Gas range



y v S. H. HO BSO N GAS RANGE Filed April 18, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l s. H. HOBSON May 3, 1938.

GAS RANGE Filed April 18, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 GAS RANGE Filed April 18, 1934 4 Sheets- 3 w a 9 nd w 0 o w a W 6 I l \m 0 Z 2 z a 6 Z 8 1 J 1 May 3, 1938.-

s, H. HOBSON GAS RANGE Filed April 18, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 3, 1938 .PATENT OFFICE GAS RANGE Stanley 11. Hobson, Rockford, m, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of the United States Application April s, 1934, soln No. 721.101

Claims.

10- extremely simple, compact and economical construction, and one in which the four cooking top burners are of identical construction, interchangeable with one another, and easily remov-' able and replaceable. In other words, the present invention gives the much desired unit design.

One of= the principal objects of the invention consists in providing an automatic lighter for the cooking top burners in the form of a combination lighter and burner support. It is an improvement on that disclosedin my prior copending applications Serial Nos. 468,283 and 573,595. This lighter is supported at the ends of its arms on the valves, thereby insuring the correct relationship between the burner supporting claws on the ends of the arms and the jets on the valves which discharge into the mixers of the burners, while also insuring the correct relationship between the flash-back jet on each burner and'the flash-back passage in the arm of the lighter. Each burner is therefore assured of positive automatic lighting, precisely like every other burner. Furthermore, all of the burners are double burners; that is, they have a center simmer burner embodied therein for use both as a simmer burner and as a lighter, and both sections of each burner are always assured of the correct gas delivery from the jets on the valves,

by reason of the fact that each supporting arm rests on a valve.

Another object consists in providing a ringshaped pilot burner at the center of the lighter supplied with gas from the manifold directly therebeneath and having its circular port in the same close proximity with the inner ends of all of the flash-back passages in the lighter, whereby to insure quick and positive lighting.

Theinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 .is a plan View of the front portion of the cooking top of agas range embodyingmy invention, the left handburner assembly being shown complete with its bowl and utensil support, but the right hand burner having the utensil support removed; a

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken. approximately on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 with the burners removed;

Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 2, Fig. 3 showing the lighter with all but one burner removed,'and Fig. 1 showing the lighter removed better to disclose the manifold and the valves connected therewith as well as their operating means, this view also. showing the connections between the oven valve on the manifold and the oven burner and oven regulator;

Fig. 5 is a view of the burner assembly partly in vertical section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 looking upwardly;

Fig. '7 is a vertical section on the line of Fig. 3 showing the pilot burner and adjacent portions of the lighter;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on the line 8-4 of Fig. 7 to better disclose the relationship of the ring-shaped port of the pilot burner to the flash back passages of the lighter;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 9-9 of Fig. '2 looking at the inside of the control panel to show the valve handle mountings;

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section through one of the valve handle mountings on the line Ill-J ll of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section through one of the universal joint operating connections between a valve handle and valve stem; and

Figs. 12 and 13- are sectional details on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 11 look ing in the directions indicated by the arrows.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to Figs. 1-5, the numeral I4 designates the cooking top which is of sheet metal and has openings i5 therein for the burners I6. Depressed ledges' l'l bound the openings I5 and support sheet metal bowls It in which openings l9 of four leaf clover or star shape to conform to burners [6 are all double burners, that is, each has a small simmer burner 20 at the center thereof which incidentally also serves as a lighter for v the main burner, the lighting'being accomplished by the propagation of flame through radial slots 2| in the top of the main burner l6 extending from the annular space 22 around the simmer burner to the continuous peripheral slot 23 defined between the top and the body of the main burner. Both sections of each burner burn with a sheet flame, the flame of the simmer section being circular and that of the main section star shaped. Secondary air also flows upwardly through the annular space 22 between the burner sections to support combustion at the simmer burner. The upstanding radial ribs 24 on the top of each burner reach to a plane above the cooking top H, and utensil supports '25 conformed to the outline of the burners as shown in Figure 1 have the tops thereof slightly above or level with the burners for proper support of the utensils, as indicated in Fig. 5, and are supported on the cooking top by legs 26 radiating from the supports and fitting in depressions 21 in the marginal portions of the bowls l8 for proper registration of the parts. Downward projections 28 on two legs of each utensil support enter holes 29 provided therefor in the cooking top to further assure proper registration of the bowl and support with the'burner and to prevent slippage of the support out of position when a utensil is slid across the top thereof. So much for a general understanding of the type of stove to which the present invention relates; it may be called a semiclosed top stove, because while the cooking top I4 is closed, the bowl l8 and utensil support 25 cooperating with each'burner l6 and its sub- 'burner 28, form' a heat concentrating unit for efficiently heating a utensil placed over the burner, while allowing final escape of the products of combustion to the atmosphere, instead of having the products conducted under the cooking top to a discharge flue. It should, however, be understood that the present invention is not limited to application to this type of stove, but might be applied to a gas range having an ope or closed cooking top. i

Central manifold The burner box compartment beneath the cooking top is closed at the front by a wall 38 andat the back by the back wall 3| of the range. The gas supply manifold 32 in accordance with my invention, extends through the middle of the burner box from front to back. It is preferably supported from the cooking top on two hangers 33 and 34 near the front and rear ends, respectively, the rear end projecting through an opening in the back wall 3| for connection with the line. The manifold 32 supplies gas to the cooking top burners I6 and their simmer burners 20 through valves 35 tapped into the manifold from opposite sides, as clearly appears in Figs. 3 and 4.

These valves are of the rotary disk type and each has two jets 36 and 31 communicating with passages in the body or stator to deliver gas to the mixers 36' and-31 for the two sections of a burner (see Fig. 5). The rotary disk or rotor 38 of each valve is turned by means of a stem 39 and has passages therein registering with the passages in the body in different positions so as to deliver gas first to the jet 31 alone for lighting of the simmer burner 28, and thereafter, upon further turning of the disk 38, to the both jets, to light the main burner I6, and then, upon further turning of the disk, the main burner l6 has more and more gas supplied thereto, while the simmer burner burns with an unchanged flame. The valves 35 are furthermore so constructed that a detent drops into a recess in the turning of the disk 38 to denote the position at which gas is delivered to the simmer burner alone. The action of the detent is perceptible to the operator in turning the handle 40 connected with the valve through a rod 4|. There are four handles for the four cooking top burners, and a like number of rods 4| and 4|, the rods 4| being longer than the rods 4| but otherwise of the same construction, two long rods 4| being required to reach the valves for the two rear burners, and two short rods 4| being required to operate the valves for the front burners. The rods 4| are extended between the jets 36 and 31 of the front valves, as indicated in Fig. 5, also see Fig. 4.

The fact that the manifold 32 is centrally located and has the valves 35 projecting from opposite sides thereof for direct communication with the mixers of the burners makes it possible Oven valve mounting A special valve 42 is provided on the front end of the manifold 32 for control of the oven burner 43 and its pilot burner 44. The valve has its inlet coupled directly to the front end of the mani fold,'as indicated at 42' and has pipes 45 and 46 communicating with outlet passages in the valve, the pipe 45 supplying gas to the oven burner 43 through an oven regulator 41 which has a thermostat 48 extending therefrom into the oven that is heated by the burner 43. The pipe 46 communicates directly with the pilot burner 44. The valve 42 similarly to the valves 35 is of the rotary disk type, and the pipes 45 and 46 extend from the stator thereof, the rotor 48 having passages therein to register with the passages in the stator when the rotor is turned by means of its stem 49 and handle 58. Now, a dial 5| bearing oven temperature graduations is turned with the rotor 48 and indicates the setting for the oven regulator 41, the rotary temperature adjustment cam 52 of said regulator being turned with the stem 49 through a rod 53 having a universal joint connection at 54 with the rear end of the stem 49 projecting from behind the stator of the valve 42, and having a similar universal joint connection at 55 with the rotary cam 52. The dial 5| is visible through a window 56 in the control panel 51 on the front wall 30, and in operation, the handle 58 is turned in a clockwise direction from the ofi position to, first of all open the valve 42 for the delivery of gas to the oven burner 43 and pilot burner 44, and then by further turning of the handle 50, the oven regulator 41 is set for a selected oven temperature indicated by the dial 5|. An arm 58 behind the dial 5| is turned with the dial and serves by engagement with either one of the two pins 59 provided on the stator 01' the valve 42 to limit rotation of handle 50.

The mounting of the oven valve 42 on the front end of the manifold 32, it should appear from the foregoing description, is highly advantageous not only because it simplifies the connection of the valve with the manifold and provides good support for the valve, but also because the stem 49 can project directly through the panel 51 for operation by means of handle 50 mounted directly thereon, and the oven temperature dial 5| is at the same time disposed directly behind the 15 of the oven regulator 41. This location of the valve" also enables the simple operating connection 53 between the rear end of the stem .49 of the valve and the rotarycam 52 of the oven regulator 41.

Combination lighter and burner support- The four valves 35 have saddles, 66 provided thereon next to shoulders 6| for the support of the combination lighter and burner support indicated generally by the numeral 62. The device 62 for convenience will hereinafter be referred to as the lighter. The lighter is a one-piece casting consisting of a hollow casing 63 for a pilot burner 64, and radiating arms 65 cast integral with the casing 63 and having flash back passages 66 formed therein. The arms 65 have claws 61 pro-' vided on the outer end thereof to support the burners l6; in other words, the arms 65 serve both as flash tubes and burner supports. Bosses 6B are formed on the arms 65 near the claws 61 and have downwardly projecting forks 69 thereon to straddle and rest on the saddles 66 in front of shoulders 6| for support of the lighter 62. Bolts 16 have their headed upper ends bearing againstthe underside of the cooking top 14 and the threaded lower ends of these bolts pass through openings in the webs 1| formed on the lighter between the arms 65, and nuts 12 thread on the bolts and are arranged to be tightened against the webs 1| so as to exert pressure downwardly on the lighter 62 to seat it firmly on the saddles 66. Other nuts 13 are threaded on the lower ends of the bolts and tightened against the webs 1| after the adjustment of nuts 12, so as to lock the parts in adjusted condition and prevent accidental loosening of the lighter 62. Any other means of holding the lighter in place could be provided, such, for example, as U-bolts extending-upwardly from the manifold 32 through holes in the webs 1|. However, the bolts 16 are preferred because they simplify assembling.

Theclaws 61 extend outwardly and upwardly with respect to the outer ends of the arms 65, as best appears in Fig. 5, for'engagement with the bottoms of the burners l6 to support the latter high enough so that the jets 14 of the simmer burners 26 are disposedin about the same horizontal plane with the bottoms of the flash back passages 66. Each claw 61 provides two fingers for engagement in recesses 15 provided in the bottom of each burner I6 as shown in Fig. 6,

whereby. to locate the burner on the claw and prevent shifting of the burner to one'side or the other once it has been set down on the supporting claw. There are two upward projections 16 on the two fingers of each claw 61 to provide two of the three points of support for a burner, the

The three point support definitely insures the lo-' cation of each burner in' the proper plane with respect tothe cooking top l4 and bowl [6 and utensil support 25.

In operation, whenthe' valve 35- of a burner is opened by turning the disk 36 thereof, gas is first discharged through the jet 31 into mixer 31' of the simmer burner 26. This gas issues from the burner 26 and at the same time from the jet 14 into the flash back passage 66 of the lighter 62.

The gas issuing from jet 14 charges the flash back passage sufliciently for ignition to occurin the housing 63 bythe pilot burner 64, and when that occurs, there is a flash back of sufiioient force to easily insure lighting of the simmer burner 26 and jet 14. The pressure wave or flash back is of sufllcient violence that I have found it advisable to provide a vent 18 in the wall of the flash back passage 66 at the bend in the outer end (see Fig. 3) andthis vent is therefore in the direct path of the pressure wave moving outwardly from the housing 63 to the simmer burner 26, and enough pressure is spent or dissipated through the vent 18 so that the burner 26 and jet 14 are sure of ignition and the flame at the jet 14 will not be snuffed. out.

Gas issuing I from the continuous slot 23 at the periphery of and serves as the lighter for the main burner.

In other words, the operator need only operate the valve in one movement when he is going to light the main burner 16 along with the simmer burner 26; he does not have to stop to wait for the lighting of the simmer burner before turning the valve further to light the main burner. the simmer burner 26 is to be used alone, the operator can tell by the detent action incorporated in the valve 35 (not shown) when he has turned the valve disk 36 far enough, and there is, therefore, no likelihood of turning the disk too far and thus supplying some gas to the main burner IS. The jet 31 for charging the simmer burner is specially constructed to give two-stage aeration, the first stage being by entrainment of air with the gas through the transverse hole 19 (see Fig. 5) and the second, stage being by entrainment of additional air with the mixture discharged from the jet 31 into the mixer 31'. Tins-results in the proper stabilization and consequent proper functioning of the simmer burner despite the fact that a relatively small amount of gas is delivered to the simmer burner.

It should be apparent from the foregoing description that the lighter 62 supports each of the' burners l6 rigidly and with the charging .jet 14 of the simmer burner 26 in proper relation .to the flash tube associated therewith'for quick and positive lighting. The proper relationship is assured because of the fact that the flash tube supports ,the burner. In other words, the relationship of each burner to its flash tube is entirely independent of the relation 01' said burner to the other burners;- in previous lighters where the lighter had flash tubes arranged to rest on the burners, it presupposed the location of all of theburners in exactly the same plane, and one or more were always apt to be above or below the plane of the When f.

,spect thereto for quick and positive lighting.

Furthermore, since the burner supporting lighter .-is supported by the valves, there is every assurance [that the mixers 38' and 31 of the burners will be properly disposed with relation to the jets 36 and 31, respectively, provided on the valves. The

. present lighter and its novel combination with the valves as herein disclosed are responsible aspreviously indicated for the unit design, which is one of the principal objects of'this invention.

Ring-shaped pilot burner Referring to Figs. '7 and 8, the pilot burner 64 has a ring-shaped port 80 disposed substantially equi-distant from the inner ends of all ofthe flash back passages 86 in the lighter 62, as clearly appears in Fig. 8. The circle described by this port is substantially concentric with the circular inside of the housing 63 and is of suflicient radius to bring the port in close proximity with the inner ends of the passages for quick and easy lighting of gas conducted from a burner through a passage'to the housing 63. In the past where an ordinary small jet was provided for the pilot light, it was practically impossible to have the jet accurately centered in all cases, and the result was that only those burners whose flash back passages were close enough to the jet for lighting, would be served properly; the others would not be lighted satisfactorily, if at all. Then, too, the size of the single flame in such an installation made considerable difference in lighting. These objections are all eliminated with my invention, because the continuous .circular or -ring-'shaped port is brought close enough to each and every flash back passage to obtain the same positive lighting for each and every burner. The lighting is furthermore unaffected by a change in the size of the flame. Another objection to the old construction was that when the pilot light was cut down to a small size for economy, it was quite apt to be blown out by a sudden gust of air or by the pressure wave in the flash back lighting of a burner. That objection is entirely eliminated with the ring-shaped pilot burner because even though the flame is extinguished at one point of the circle by reason of a gust of air or the action of a pressure wave, the rest of the ring-shaped pilot light is not disturbed or at least is not extinguished, and the full circleoi flame will be immediately thereafter built up again. It is practically impossible to extinguish this burner with the ordinary wind tests, regardless of a low flame. The importance 'of this cannot be over-emphasized, especially in the case of ranges equipped with automatic clock controls where the continued burning of the pilot light is so completely relied upon. The burner 64 has the body 8| thereof formed with a circularraised portion 82 to'flt inside the housing 63 for accurate location of the burner, and bolts '83 passed through the webs H of the lighter and through the projecting lugs 84 of the burner serve to fasten the burner in place. A Bunsen mixer 85 is' connected with the'burner as appears in Fig. 7, and is supplied with gas from the manifold32 through the tube 86 and fitting 81. The

latter is tapped into. the manifold and has a screw adjustment 88 for controlling the delivery of gas. to the pilot burner 64.

Valoe operating means Referring to Figs. 4 vand 9'-1'3,it will be observed that the valves are all operated by handles through rods 4I-.-4I detachably connected at opposite ends with the stems 39 of the valves and the shanks 89 of the handles. The rods are formed at both ends with tapered portions 90 ending in crossheads 9I of approximately cylindrical form. At the middle of each crosshead, that'is, on the axis of the rod, an enlarged ball portion 92 is provided. With this construction the ball-shaped portion at one end of the rod is slidably received in an axial bore 93 in the valve stem 39, and the ball-shaped portion at the other end of the rod is similarly received in anaxial bore 94 in the handle 40,. whereby to center the one end of the rod accurately with respect to the valve stem and the other end of the rodwith respect to the handle. The valve stem is slotted longitudinally as at 95 to slidably receive the ends of the crosshead BI, and longitudinal slots 96 are provided in the handle to slidably receive the crosshead 9I on the other end of the rod. A certain range of angular movement of the rod in one plane with respect to the valve stem and handle is allowed by reason of the crossheads being slidable'in the slots 95 and 96, and angular movement of the rod in a transverse plane is permitted by reason of the crossheads being cylindrical and therefore free to oscillate in the slots. The movement permitted in one plane is limited by the slots 96 which, as appears in Fig. 13, is made wider than the end of the rod. A predetermined range of movement in the other plane is secured by the flaring of the outer end of the slots 95, as indicated at 91, and the flaring of the outer end of the slots 96 as at 98. The fact that the ends of the rods are tapered to such a reduced width as appears in Fig. 11 is, of course, also responsible for the construction permitting an appreciable range of universal movement. The construction besides being so simple and economical to manufacture also has the advantage of easy assembling and disassembling; the panel 51 carrying the handles 40 is removable upon removal of the four wing nuts 99 threaded on studs I00 projecting inwardly from the panel through the front wall 30 and cross-piece IN, and in such removal and replacement, the front ends of the rods 4I-4I slide easily out of or into the shanks of handles 40. The rods are likewise easily connected to or disconnected from the stems 39 of the valves.

The handles 40 are for the sake of appearance preferably molded of plastic material. A

bearing portion I02 is formed on the shank thereof between an annular groove I03 and an annular shoulder I04. With this construction, the shank is then adapted to be inserted in a circular hole I05 in the panel 51, and a U-shaped spring wire clip I06 is snapped into the groove I03 as clearly appearsin Figs. 9 and 10, whereby to detachably secure the handle in place, with the shoulder I04 in abutment with the outside of the panel and the clip I06 in abutment with the inside. The shank of the handle is arranged to turn with respect to the clip, the latter being held against turning by means of a projection IN on the inside of the panel 51. The end of the spring clip I06 is bent at right angles, as clearly appears in Fig. 10 so that it may be moved into or out of position easily by finger pressure when the handle is being installed or removed.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of..all of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended lii claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

-1. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of an automatic lighter comprising a pilot light casing having flash tubes extending therefrom toward the different burners, a gas supply manifold below the cooking top having valves projecting therefrom toward the different burners, means whereby the valves support the lighter by engagement with the flash tubes so that the lighter is disposed in a'predetermined position with reference to the cooking top, and means for supporting the burners on the ends of the flash tubes in positions adjacent the valves to receive gas therefrom.

2. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of an automatic lighter comprising a pilot light casing having flash tubes extending therefrom toward the different burners, a gas supply manifold below the cooking top having valves projecting therefrom toward the different burners, supports on the valves detachably engaged by portions on the flash tubes whereby to support the lighter in a predetermined position with reference to the cooking top, means extending between the cooking top and the lighter and serving to hold the latter against displacement from the supports, and means for supporting the burners on the ends of the flash tubes in positions adjacent the valves to receive gas therefrom.

3. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of a gas supply manifold below the cooking top extending between the burners and having valves communicating therewith and extending from opposite sides thereof toward the burners to deliver gas thereto, an automatic lighter comprising a central pilot light casing having flash tubes radiating therefrom toward the different burners; said lighter being supported on the manifold so that the pilot light casing'is directly over the manifold and the ends of the flash tubes are over the various valves, a pilot burner in said casing having direct communication with the manifold therebeneath, and means for supporting the burners on the ends of the flash tubes and in communication with said valves.

4. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of a gas supply manifold centrally disposed with reference to the cooking top and below the same, valves extending horizontally from opposite sides of the manifold shoulders, .whereby to support the lightr'in a 5. In a. gas stove having a cooking top, the combination of a gas supply manifold below the cooking top, a plurality of cooking top burners, a

plurality of valves projecting from the manifold toward the burners, a lighter comprising a pilot light casing with flash tubes extending therefrom, said lighter being suitably supported above the manifold and having the ends ofthe flash tubes projecting over the valves, each flash tube end being disposed in ,the same relation to a valve associated therewith, said plurality of cooking top burners being of like construction and interchangeable with one another, and means on the burners and the ends of. the flash tubes, whereby vthe burners are all suspended solely upon the lighter so that each communicates in the same 'way with the lighter for lighting, while communicating in like manner with a sub-adjacent valve to receive gas therefrom.

6. In a gas stove comprising a cooking top, burners therefor, a gas supply manifold beneath the cooking top.having valves extending theretherefrom toward the burners to conduct gas from the burners. to the pilot light for ignition, the same being supported on said valves and having means on the ends of the flash tubes for supporting the burners in operative relation to said valves and also to permit lighting thereof.

7. In a gas stove comprising a cooking top, burners therefor, a gas supply manifold beneath the cooking top having valves extending therefrom toward the different burners to supply gas thereto, an automatic lighter comprising a pilot light casing having flash tubes extending therefrom toward the different burners, means for supporting the lighter by its flash tubes on the aforesaid valves, and means for detachably connecting the burners with the outer ends of said flash tubes forsupport of the burners thereon in operative relation thereto and to said valves.

8. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of a gas supply manifold below the cookingr top having valves with jets to deliver gas to the burners, a lighter for said burners comprising a central pilot light casing having flash tubes extending therefrom -toward the burners, said lighter being supported on the manifold in a substantially horizontal plane at a predetermined elevation with reference to the cooking top and with its pilot light casing in juxtaposition with the manifold, there being a pilot burner in said'casing supplied with gas from the manifold, and means for supporting the first named burners on the outer ends ,of said flash tubes in a substantially horizontal plane at a predetermined elevation relative to the cooking top and in operative relation to the flash tubes and valve jets.

9. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of a gas supply manifold below the cooking top having valve elements with jets. to deliver gas to the burners, a lighter for said burners comprising a central pilot light casing having flash tube elements extending therefromtoward the burners, said lighter being supported on the manifold in a substantially horizontal plane at a predetermined elevation with reference to the cooking top, said fl'ash tube elements and valve elements being thereby arranged in juxtaposition, and means for supporting each cooking top burner on one of said flash tube and valve elements in communication with the valve element for gas supply and with the flash tube element for discharge of gas thereto and flash back lighting therefrom.

10. In a gas stove, the combination with the burners of the cooking top, of an automatic lighter comprising a pilot light casing having flash tube elements extending therefrom toward thereby arranged in juxtapositiofiiand"nieans for supporting each cooking top burnei'fon one of said flash tube and valve elements in communi-v cation with the valve element for gas supply and with the flash tube element for discharge of-gas 5 thereto and flash back lighting therefrom.

STANLEY H. HOBSON. 

